Tufting device



Jan. 25, 1966 J. J. SIMS 3,230,982

TUFTING DEVICE Filed July 1, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTDR JOHN J. SIMSJan. 25, 1966 J. J. SIMS 3,230,982

TUFTING DEVICE Filed July 1, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet z INVENTOR JOHN J. SIMSMMIW 0% h ATTOR "5V5 United States Patent "ice 3,230,982 TUFTING DEVICEJohn J. Sims, 9170 Inverness Road, Sidney, British Columbia, CanadaFiled July 1, 1963, Ser. No. 291,865 9 Claims. (Cl. 139-1) Thisinvention relates to a tufting device whereby wool yarn and the like maybe afiixed to a fabric backing to produce a rug, and particularly to adevice which will knot the wool yarn to the individual warp or weftthreads forming the fabric backing.

In the making of hooked rugs, strands of wool or its equivalent arepassed through a fabric backing with an all or some similar deviceleaving a portion of the wool protruding to thereby form a rug. The woolis held in place usually by friction and is therefore subject tounravelling.

It is appreciated that devices have been designed heretofore in whichthe tufts of wool are afiixed, such as by knotting, to the warp and weftthreads of the fabric backing. Such devices, however, are usually verycomplicamd and are, therefore, not adapted to use by the normal personengaged in making a hooked rug. More simple devices have been designed,however, they have not permitted sufiicient speed of operation oruniformity of application of wool to the backing.

The present device provides an implement very simple in construction andin operation whereby individual strands of wool may be knotted to warpor weft threads in fabric backing speedily and in a uniform manner. Onlyone hand is required in its operation and this operation is so simplethat a child or an inexperienced person may make hooked rugs with adexterity required by one of long practice.

The present invention consists of a tufting device for knotting yarn tothe strands of a fabric backing comprising a guide member having a wayformed longitudinally therethrough, a plunger slidably carried by theguide member within the way for reciprocal movement, said plunger havingyarn carrying means formed on one end thereof, means to operate theplunger from an extended to a non-extended position, a foot having anaperture therethrough and connected to one end of the guide member, saidaperture being adapted to permit the passage of said one end of theplunger therethrough when the plunger is moved to its extended position,and yarn gripping means formed in said one end of the guide member, saidyarn gripping means lying outwardly of and in longitudinal alignmentwith the yarn carrying means on the end of the plunger when the plungeris in its non-extended position.

An example of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings,in which:

FIGURE 1 is an isometric view of the invention showing a strand of woolin place,

FIGURE 2 is an end view of the invention in the direction 22 of FIGURE1,

FIGURE 3 is a top plan view of a portion of the device in the direction33 of FIGURE 1,

FIGURES 4 to 8 are diagrammatic views showing the formation of a tuftand relative position of the elements of the invention in variouspositions during the formation of the tuft,

FIGURE 9 is a plan view of a portion of the fabric backing used in themaking of hooked rugs,

FIGURE 10 is a side view of the device partially cut away to form analternate embodiment,

FIGURE 11 is an enlarged view of a section of FIG- URE l0, and

FIGURE 12 is a section taken on line 12-12 of FIG- URE 11.

3,230,982 Patented Jan. 25, 1966 Referring to the drawings, the tuftingdevice numbered generally as 10, and as shown in FIGURE 1, comprisesessentially a plunger 11 slidably mounted on a guide block 12 forreciprocal movement relative thereto and arranged to be thrust outwardlythrough an aperture 14 formed in a foot 14a, the latter being connectedto the end of the guide block 12. A handle 15 is suitably secured to theguide block in a manner hereinafter described to assist the operation ofthe device.

The guide block 12, to permit ease of assembly, is formed in two parts,a yarn gripping section 16 having a notch 18 formed in one end 19thereof and a cover piece 20. The cover piece 20 has a notch 22 formedin one end thereof and is secured at the other end 23 by lug screws 24to an end 25 of the handle, the axis of the handle and cover piece beingat right angles to each other. The yarn gripping section 16 is securedto the underside of the cover piece by lug screws 27.

In the preferred form of the invention, the notch 18 formed in the yarngripping section 16 is formed such that it presents, when viewed in adirection normalto the upper side 28 of the yarn gripping section 16 anoutwardly opening V narrowing inwardly to a restricted waste 30 and thenwidening outwardly to form a more or less elliptical aperture 32, thisembodiment is clearly shown in FIGURE 3 of the drawings, the sides ofthe notch 18 also flare outwardly from the upper side 28 of the yarngripping section 16 to the underside 33 thereof. This latter embodimentis clearly shown in FIGURE 2 of the drawings.

The plunger 11 which in the preferred form is an elongated rod ofrectangular cross section is slidably carried between the yarn grippingsection 16 and cover piece 20 in a way 35, the longitudinal centre lineof whichis shown in FIGURES 1 and 3 and marked L for identification,formed in the undersurface 36 of the cover piece. The plunger carries aprojecting dog 39 which is slidably received by an elongated recess 40formed centrally in and through the cover piece 20, the end walls 41 and42 of which co-act with the dog, thereby serving to limit the reciprocalmovement of the plunger.

One end 43 of the plunger is formed with a U-shaped slot 44 and theouter end 46 has an operating cap 47 secured thereto which serves as anouter stop confining a compression spring 48 mounted on the plungerbetween the cap 47 and the handle 15 to thereby continually urge theplunger to an outward or non-extended position.

The foot 14a is preferably formed of a length of stiff wire, such aspiano wire, being bent intermediate its ends to form an upwardly turnedloop 51, and spaced parallel arms 52. The foot is secured to the yarngripping section 16 in a position such that the arms 52 thereof lieparallel to and are centrally located relative to the notch 18 and theloop 51 is located to permit passage of the end 43 of the plungertherethrough. In order to provide a means to adjustably position thefoot relative to the yarn gripping section, the arms 52 of the foot aregrippingly secured by the head of a lug screw 54 which is screwed intothe body of the yarn gripping section on the underside 33 thereof. Byloosening the lug screw, the foot may he slid toward or away from theend 19 of the yarn gripping section and secured in any desired positionby simply tightening the screw 54.

It is appreciated that the proper proportioning of the elementscomprising the device in order that it may properly function as atufting implement is extremely important. When the plunger is urgedoutwardly by the spring 48 to the normal non-extended position, aslimited by the dog 39 lying against the end wall 41 and the recess, theU-shaped slot 44 of the end 43 of the plunger is positioned slightlyrearwardly of the elliptical 3 aperture 32 and when the plunger isforced outwardly to its fully extended position, as limited by the dog39 lying against the end wall 42 of the recess, the end 43 thereofprojects outwardly through the loop 51 of the foot approximately onehalf an ineh. This latter distance can, of course, be adjusted byslidably positioning the foot relative to the end of the yarn grippingsection 16 by loosening the lug screw 54. The plunger in its 'non-ex'tended position is shown 'in FIGURE '1, FIGURE 4, FIGURE 6 and FIGURE 7of the "drawings, and in its extended position in FIGURE of thedrawings.

The deviceas 'hereinbe'fore described is intended for use in conjunctionwith a specially prepared fabric backing -of the type now'standard inthe making of hooked rugs, in which the warp and weft threads thereofare suitably interwoven and fixed relative to each other to formuniformly spaced and sized longitudinal and transversely disposedapertures. Aportion of this type of backing is shown in FIGURE 9 inwhich warp threads 60, 61 and 62 are interwoven through weft threads 63and 64 to form apertures '66 and 67. a In the operation of the device, alength of wool yarn 70 is formed into a loop providing a looped end '71and free ends 72. The looped end 71 is drawn over the foot 14 with thefree ends standing upwardly therefrom and the 'yarn '70 is thendrawnbackwardly over the arms 52'of the foot into 'the elliptical aperture 32of the yarn gripping section 16. The free ends 72 of the yarn may thenbe released, the yarn being held firmly by the walls of the ellipticalaperture. The loop 51 of the foot is then 'thru'st'down'war'dl-y throughaperture 67 and against warp thread 61. In this position, the plungerwill assume a position centrally over aperture 66 as showndiagrammatically in FIGURE 4. The plunger is then thrust outwardly toits extended position, as shown in FIGURE 4, downwardly through aperture66 and through the loop 51 of the foot, the U-shaped slot 44 in theend'thereof carryin'g th'efr'ee'ends 72 of the arm 70 downwardly throughsaid 'la'tteraperture and l op. The parts in this position areshowndiagr ammatieally in FIGURE 5. When the plunger is released toassume a fully Withdrawn position, asshown 'in FIGURE 6,the'ifree ends72 of the yarn 70 remains in position downwardly through aperture 66 andloop 51. The foot is then withdrawn as shown in FIG- URE 7 upwardlythrough aperture 67, the loop 51 carrying the free ends 72 of the yarnupwardly through the looped end 71 of the yarn thereby forming a barrelknot around 'warp thread 61 as shown in FIGURE 8. If desired, the knotmay be tightened by simply taking hold of the free ends 72 of the yarnand tucking them. Such "an actionwill produce a relatively tight knot.When the foregoing operation is carried out to form a knotted length ofyarn around each warp or weft thread forming the fabric backing, a rugof the pile type will be produced and by virtue of the adjustable foot,various lengths of yarn may be employed to produce either a rug havinglong or short pile strands. The device is also capable of adjustment tosuit fabrics of various mesh as feet of differentiwidths suitably sizedrelative to the fabric used may be easily and quickly secured to thedevice in the manner described hereinbefore.

It will be noted that the foregoing description provides a device whichmay be very easily constructed and which may be simply operated, theplunger being depressed by the thumb of the hand gripping the handle 15.If desired, the plunger may be operated by 'a'trigger device as shownin'drawings through'12.

It is'to be understood that in the description following, the device andseparate elements are thesame as the device described hereinbefo're withtheaddition of the trigger device. Similar parts, however, are givendifferent numbers for identification purposes.

In this embodiment of-the invention, the handle which is-numbered 80 andyarn gripping section numbered -'8-2,

are of hollow construction and contain a triggering mechanism 83. Thetriggering mechanism comprises a lever pivoted at a point intermediateits length on a shaft 86, said shaft being secured at each end to thehandle 80. One end 88 of the lever projects outwardly through a slot 89formed in the forward face of the handle and the other end 91 ispivotally connected to one end 95 of a pawl 97, the other endss ofthepawl being'arranged to bear against a stop formed on the undersurfaceof the plunger 102. The said one end 98 of the pawl is provided with asidewaysproje'cting lug 104 which is adapted to slidably engage a wedgeshaped projection 105, having a cam face 107, formed on an inner wall108 of the yarn grippings'ection 82,111 a 'r'n'anner hereinafterdescribed.

A tension spring 109 is secured at one endto the end '91 of the lever 85and at the other end to the rear wall 110 of the handle, and acompression spring 1'12 is situated and appropriately fastened betweenthe lever and the pawl in a position substantially as shown in FIGURES10 and 11.

The parts as described are so arranged that when the plunger is in itsfully non-extended position, as shown in FIGURE 10, the tension spring109 will pivot the lever 85 to fully withdraw the pawl 97, said pawlbeing thrust upwardly against the underside of the plunger by thecompression spring 112 with its end 98 positioned just rearwardly of thestop 100. To operate the device, the handle 80 gripped by the thumb andfirst two fingers of the hand and the third finger and little fingerpressed against the end 88 of the lever 85. The pivotal action of thelever forces the 'end 9815f the pawl against the stop 100 and moves theplunger outwardly to an extended position at which'point'the lug l04-meets the cam surface 107 of the projection 105, and rides downwardlythereon releasing said end 98 of the pawl frorn's top 100 and allowingthe plunger 'to return to its non-extended position. When the end 88 ofthe lever is released, the tension spring 109 will cause the lever 85 topivotand withdraw 'the pawl to the first-mentioned position to start thecycle over again.

It is apparent that many types of trigger or lever actions may bedevised to'rnove'the plunger, the above being only one of many. Theinvention is, therefore, not limited to any one of'tlie described meansof operating the plunger.

It 'will be'noted the foregoing description the device has beendescribedjas being fashioned of separable individual parts, i.e. theyarn gripping 'member, the cover piece and the handle. It will beappreciated, however, that the device may be molded from a material,such as a plastic or'the like, in one unit in which the foregoing partsare an integral part-of'the unit.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. 'A tufting device for knotting yarn to the strands of a fabricbacking comprising a guide member, a way formed in and extending throughsaid guide member, a plunger 'slidably'carried by'the guide memberwithin the way for reciprocal movement, said plunger having yarncarrying means formed on one end thereof, cover means over the way tomaintain the plunger therein while permitting sliding movement of thelatter, means to operate the plunger from an extended to a non-extendedposition, a foot having an aperture therethrough and connected to oneend of'the guide member, said foot extending transversely to thelongitudinal axis of the way, said aperture being adapted to permit thepassage of said one end of the plunge'rtherethrough when the plunger ismoved to its extended position, and yarn gripping means formed in saidone end of the guide member, said yarn gripping means lying outwardly ofand in longitudinal alignment with the yarn carrying means on the end ofthe plunger whenthe'plunger is in its non-extended position.

2. A tufting device as claimed in claim 1 including resilient meansconnected to the plunger urging said plunger to a normal non-extendedposition.

3. A tufting device for knotting yarn to the strands of a fabriccomprising a guide member, a way formed in and extending through saidguide member, a plunger slidably carried by the guide member within theway for reciprocal movement, said plunger having yarn carrying meansformed on one end thereof and having a dog mounted thereon, cover meansover the way to maintain the plung-- er therein while permitting slidingmovement of the latter, spaced walls on the cover means arranged in thepath of the dog to limit the travel of the plunger between an extendedand non-extended position, means to operate the plunger from an extendedto a non-extended position, a foot having an aperture therethrough andconnected to one end of the guide member, said foot extendingtransversely of the longitudinal axis of the way, said aperture beingadapted to permit the passage of said one end of the plungertherethrough when the plunger is moved to its extended position, andyarn gripping means formed in said one end of the guide me her, saidyarn gripping means lying outwardly of and in longitudinal alignmentwith the yarn carrying means on the end of the plunger when the plungeris in its non-extended position.

4. A tufting device as claimed in claim 3 including resilient meansconnected to the plunger urging said plunger to a normal non-extendedposition.

5. A tufting device for knotting yarn to the strands of a fabric backingcomprising a guide member, a way formed in and extending through saidguide member, a plunger slidably carried by the guide member within theway for reciprocal movement, said plunger having a forwardly openingU-shaped recess in one end thereof and having a dog mounted thereon,cover means over the way to maintain the plunger therein whilepermitting sliding movement of the latter, spaced walls on the covermeans arranged in the path of the dog to limit the travel of the plungerbetween an extended and a non-extended position, means to operate theplunger from an extended to a non-extended position, a foot having anaperture therethrough and connected to one end of the guide member, saidfoot extending transversely of the longitudinal axis of the way, saidaperture being adapted to permit the passage of said one end of theplunger therethrough when the plunger is moved to its extended position,and yarn gripping means formed in said one end of the guide member, saidyarn gripping means lying outwardly of and in longitudinal alignmentwith the U-shaped recess on the end of the plunger when the plunger isin its non-extended position.

6. A tufting device as claimed in claim 5 including resilient meansconnected to the plunger urging said plunger to a normal non-extendedposition.

7. A tufting device as claimed in claim 6 in which the resilient meanscomprises a coil spring situated over the plunger.

8. A tufting device for knotting yarn to the strands of a fabriccomprising a guide member, a way formed in and extending through saidguide member, an elongated plunger slidably carried by the guide memberwithin the way for reciprocal movement, a dog mounted in the plunger,cover means over the way to maintain the plunger therein whilepermitting sliding movement of the latter, spaced walls on the covermeans arranged in the path of the dog to limit the travel of the plungerbetween an extended and a non-extended position, resilient meansconnected to the plunger normally urging the latter to its non-extendedposition, a handle extending laterally from the guide member and beinglocated, when gripped, to position the thumb of the hand over the otherend of the plunger whereby the latter may be moved to its extendedposition against the action of the resilient means, a foot having anaperture formed therethrough connected to one end of the guide memberand being located so as to permit the passage of the said one end of theplunger therethrough when the latter is moved between its extended andnon-extended position, said foot extending transversely t0 thelongitudinal axis of the Way, and yarn gripping means formed at said oneend of the guide member adapted to releasably maintain a doubled strandof yarn in the path of the said one end of the plunger so as to permitthe latter to carry said strand through the aperture as said plunger ismoved from its non-extended p osition to its extended position.

9. A tufting device for kuotting yarn to the strands of a fabriccomprising a guide member, a way formed in and extending through saidguide member, an elongated plunger slidably carried by the guidememberwithin the way for reciprocable movement, a dog mounted in the plunger,cover means over the way to maintain the plunger therein whilepermitting sliding movement of the latter, spaced walls on the covermeans arranged in the path of the dog to limit the travel of the plungerbetween an extended and a non-extended position, a handle extendinglaterally from the guide member, a lever pivotally mounted on the handleand engageable with the plunger, resilient means connected to theplunger normally urging the latter to its non-extended position, saidlever being operable to move said plunger from its non-extended to itsextended position against the action of the resilient means, a foothaving an aperture formed therethrough connected to one end of the guidemember and being located so as to permit the passage of the said one endof the plunger therethrough when the latter is moved between itsextended and non-extended position, said foot extending transversely tothe longitudinal axis of the way, yarn gripping means formed at said oneend of the guide member adapted to releasably maintain a doubled strandof yarn in the path of the said one end of the plunger so as to permitthe latter to carry said strand through the aperture as said plunger ismoved from its non-extended position to its extended position, and meansto disengage the lever and the plunger when the latter reaches itsextened position to allow the resilient means to return said plunger toits non-extended position.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,873,766 2/1959Jeandupeux 139-1 FOREIGN PATENTS 79,195 4/ 1959 Denmark. 27,966 of 1903Great Britain. 206,023 11/ 1923 Great Britain.

DONALD W.- PARKER, Primary Examiner.

1. A TUFTING DEVICE FOR KNOTTING YARN TO THE STANDS OF A FABRIC BACKINGCOMPRISING A GUIDE MEMBER, A WAY FORMED IN AND EXTENDING THROUGH SAIDGUIDE MEMBER, A PLUNGER SLIDABLY CARRIED BY THE GUIDE MEMBER WITHIN THEWAY FOR RECIPROCAL MOVEMENT, SAID PLUNGER HAVING YARN CARRYING MEANSFORMED ON ONE END THEREOF, COVER MEANS OVER THE WAY TO MAINTAIN THEPLUNGER THEREIN WHILE PERMITTING SLIDING MOVEMENT OF THE LATTER, MEANSTO OPERATE THE PLUNGER FROM AN EXTENDED TO A NON-EXTENDED POSITION, AFOOT HAVING AN APERTURE THERETHROUGH AND CONNECTED TO ONE END OF THEGUIDE MEMBER, SAID FOOT EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY TO THE LONGITUDINAL AXISOF THE WAY SAID APERTURE BEING ADAPTED TO PERMIT THE PASSAGE OF SAID ONEEND OF THE PLUNGER THERETHROUGH WHEN THE PLUNGER IS MOVED TO ITS EXENDEDPOSITION, AND YARN GRIPPING MEANS FORMED IN SAID ONE END OF THE GUIDEMEMBER, SAID YARN GRIPPING MEANS LYING OUTWARDLY OF AND IN LONGITUDINALALIGNMENT WITH THE YARN CARRYING MEANS ON THE END OF THE PLUNGER WHENTHE PLUNGER IS IN ITS-EXTENDED POSITION.